Some water-quality groups say Michigan needs to take a stronger stance against Enbridge for its refusal to assume responsibility for losses related to a Line 5 oil pipeline failure in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WHMI – Howell, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-line-5
Senator Tammy Baldwin and Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes were among the Wisconsin politicians taking part in a climate change town hall on Wednesday. Read and view the full story by WAOW – TV – Wausau, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-wisconsin-town-hall
Young plovers born near Green Bay Wisconsin this summer were transferred Friday to Illinois Beach State Park in Zion to avoid an outbreak of botulism at the plovers’ Wisconsin nesting site. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-piping-plovers
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will use a $1.1 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to support the work of Minnesota’s Lake Superior Coastal Program, fund three significant local projects and continue the program’s quarterly short-term action request grants, according to a news release from the DNR. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-coastal-program
Algae blooms on Lake Superior have caused a lot of public concern in recent years and now researchers from the University of Minnesota – Duluth believe they know why they’ve been happening. Read and view the full story by WDIO – TV- Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-algal-blooms
The city of Joliet, Illinois will hold a virtual stakeholders meeting Thursday on its alternative water source program. Read the full story by The Herald-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-joliet
Thirty-two Northeast Ohio lawmakers from both parties asked a top state utility regulator Wednesday for a reconsideration of a ruling they claim would doom the construction of Icebreaker Wind, the nation’s first freshwater offshore wind farm, in Lake Erie. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-wind-farm
A bill that authorizes various water projects and contains several important provisions for central New York has been approved by the House of Representatives. Read the full story by The Auburn Citizen.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-water-bill
Representatives of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Niagara County Soil and Water Conservation District will meet with members of the public, albeit virtually, from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday to discuss lifting the longstanding ban on dredging Eighteen Mile Creek. A Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) previously placed on Eighteen Mile Creek restricts dredging activities in the creek. Read the full story by Lockport Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-eighteen
An investigation into the collision between two vessels on the Welland Canal earlier this month could take to 450 days to complete, says the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Read the full story by the Welland Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-welland
A group of property owners seeking to gain control of a system of dams that released catastrophic floodwater across mid-Michigan anticipates repairs to the dam and surrounding lakes to cost upwards of $340 million. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-dams
The Coastal Stewardship Coordinator with the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation says many of their team of Coastal Watchers are reporting the loss of large trees along the Lake Huron shoreline to erosion. Read the full story by the Blackburn News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-trees
Upwelling events can dramatically change water temperatures quickly. Buoys from University of Minnesota-Duluth Lake Superior provide real time water temperatures that can help beachgoers decide if it is a good time to swim. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-buoys
Toxic algae blooming in Lake Erie is creating safety concerns for humans and aquatic life prompting the state of Michigan to work with farmers to reduce the phosphorus levels in field runoff. Read the full story by WKAR- Lansing, Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-michigan
Steel production has dropped by 20% for the year, while steel capacity utilization is down more than 20 percentage points as compared to the same time last year, largely as a result of the coronavirus pandemic that greatly gutted demand for steel in the short term. Read the full story by the Northwest Indiana Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-steel
Surface water temperatures on the Great Lakes have been warmer than average this year, prompting researchers to ask the public to be on the lookout for harmful algal blooms on Lake Superior. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-blooms
A report from the Government Accounting Office says that the agency that helps regulate water levels on Lake Ontario needs to do a better job communicating with the public.. Read the full story by WBFO.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-ijc
Overall, total rainfall over the Great Lakes drainage basin hasn’t been dry. The southern half of Lower Michigan has been drier than average, but northern Lower and especially the U.P. have been hammered with heavy rain. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-dry
This week Traverse City will begin construction of a temporary containment area around the low point of the city’s sewer system that will hold up to 3,700 gallons; the system has seen sanitary sewer overflows totaling 57,000 gallons in three rain events since late May, many more than the single overflow in 2019. Read the full story by Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-traverse-city-sewer
The 118-year-old S.S. Columbia holds a special place in history as it once traveled throughout the Great Lakes, but now sits in a state of disrepair along the Buffalo River. Read and listen to the full story by WBFO-Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-buffalo-history
Some potentially harmful blue-green algal blooms have been spotted in recent days in New York’s Chautauqua Lake; the discovery of a bloom at Long Point State Park prompted officials to post “no swimming” signs at the beach. Read the full story by Erie News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-algal-bloom-new-york
New York State’s environmental restrictions on dredging in Olcott Harbor may be lifted as plans come into focus for construction next year of a long-awaited breakwall to protect the harbor from Lake Ontario’s rising waters. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-harbor-dredge-dec
A major project to stop PFAS discharges from reaching the Flint River has restarted; the project entails rerouting 3,600 feet of a storm sewer line through Buick City. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-pfas-flint-river
Milwaukee’s harbor plans to install a trash interceptor in the Kinnickinnic River to catch floating trash before it reaches Lake Michigan. Read and listen to the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-milwaukee-harbor-trash
Color and material design students at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI have come up with an ingenious way to repurpose zebra mussel shells. Read the full story by Fast Company.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-zebra-mussel-glass
The controversial proposed Back Forty open pit metallic sulfide mine on the Michigan-Wisconsin border has suffered major financial and permitting setbacks due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and increasing public concerns over the safety of tailings dams to store mine waste. Read the full story by Urban Milwaukee.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-mine-pollution-concern
A group of Port of Montreal workers plans to walk off the job for four days next week as negotiations over a new labor contract drag on. The walkout will also affect operations at the port’s Contrecoeur terminal. The port serves Canada and several U.S. states. Read the full story by the Montreal Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-montreal-dock-walkout
This latest grant announcement includes $1.83 million for FishPass, a project in Traverse City, MI that allows native fish to pass through the waterways while blocking invasive species. FishPass is expected to be operational in 2023. Read and view the full story by WWTV-TV-Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-funding-traverse-city
A warm winter followed by a hot spell in early summer for the Great Lakes region has left Lake Michigan nearly 10 degrees hotter than normal. Read and listen to the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-warming-lakes-michigan
The National Sea Grant office awarded the funds to the new Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative, a group aiming to bring together scientists and educators from all eight states in the Great Lakes basin. Read the full story by GreatLakesNow.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-aquaculture-great-lakes
On Thursday, Senior U.S. District Court Judge James Carr will continue hearing evidence in a landmark Lake Erie lawsuit, which has implications for how the algae-prone Western Lake Erie will be regulated. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200727-lake-erie-case
The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative is asking members of Congress to include water resource priorities in any economic stimulus plans stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. Read the full story by The News-Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200727-fund-great-lakes-communities
Increasing the global network of scientists who are involved in harmful algal bloom research is important to solving the problems of these blooms in bodies of water such as Lake Erie. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200727-algal-bloom-research+
The management plan affecting water levels on Lake Ontario may now have a better chance of working more effectively after getting some feedback from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Read the full story by The Auburn Citizen.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200727-ontario-management-plan
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, has emphasized that her environmental priorities are focused on the social justice issues of access to drinking water and clean air. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200727-environmental-justice
A New York Times staff photographer shares a collection of images from Isle Royale, a remote Michigan island in Lake Superior. Read the full story by The New York Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200727-isle-royale
Michigan’s remaining commercial fishers have major concerns with new state legislation, specifically the provisions that permanently prevent commercial fishers from fishing for perch, walleye, and lake trout. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200727-commercial-fishing
The all-time highest recorded water level for Lakes Michigan and Huron happened in October of 1986, when the two lakes reached 582.35 feet. The current level is about 2 inches below that record, but that may be as high as they get this year. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200727-water-levels
The National Museum of the Great Lakes has partnered with the Toledo Zoo to open a temporary exhibition titled “What’s in a Name.” The exhibit is part of a collection of nameboards from Great Lakes ships, each telling its ship’s story and the background on its name. Read the full story by WNWO-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200727-nameboard-exhibit
A 50-foot sailboat sunk on the South Side of Lake Macatawa in Michigan Saturday morning, releasing approximately 50 gallons of diesel fuel into the water. Read the full story by WXMI-TV – Macataka, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200727-sailboat-spills-fuel
Recent damage that prompted the temporary shutdown of an Enbridge oil pipeline in a channel linking two of the Great Lakes may have been done by vessels working for the company, according to an in-house report provided Thursday to The Associated Press. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200724-enbridge
The 2000 Great Lakes Consent Decree is set to expire in August, and a court proceeding filed last week by one Michigan Upper Peninsula tribe could end sportfishing as we know it in much of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Cedar Springs Post.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200724-fishing
A member of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) calls the United States House panel backing an Asian carp barrier project as a major step forward to keep the invasive fish from entering the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Manitoulin Expositor.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200724-GLFC-carp
For some, the idea of diving the frigid waters of the Great Lakes in winter on a single breath might not be very alluring. But for others, this ice-topped wonderland provides a sanctuary for meditation and exploration. Writer-photographer Geoff Coombs takes us on a dream-like journey beneath the frozen waters of Lake Huron. Read the full story by Oceanographic Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200724-huron-diving
A contract has been awarded for dredging of Holland (Outer) Harbor in Holland, Michigan that will continue through September, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District reports. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200724-holland-harbor
A pivotal court hearing for the future of western Lake Erie is being held Friday before Senior U.S. District Judge James Carr of Toledo, Ohio. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200724-lake-erie-cleanup
A new report by Environment Michigan Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group looks at some of the most polluted beaches in Michigan. In 2019, several dozen of Michigan’s beaches tested were unsafe at one point or another. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200724-beach-pathogens
Live fire weapons demonstrations will be part of a day’s worth of World War II reenactments, held aboard the USS LST 393 Veterans Museum, the historic warship docked at 560 Mart St. in downtown Muskegon, on Saturday, July 25. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200724-muskegon-reenactors
During Erie’s early waterfront years, Rufus and Charles Reed maintained a monopoly hold on the local docks and shipping. The current dock iteration began with the creation of the Bayfront Parkway which provides access to portions of Erie, Pennsylvania’s waterfront that had never been seen by residents and made it possible for commercial ventures to open on or near the water. Read the full story by the Erie Reader.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200724-erie-docks
The Government Accountability Office released a study Thursday saying that Plan 2014 needs to be fixed. The report says the IJC has taken steps to adjust if necessary. Read the full story by WROC – Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200724-ijc-plan
